On Thursday, University Hospitals, in partnership with the Browns, hosted more than 65 athletic trainers from Northeast Ohio for its annual meeting to help prepare and update athletic trainers in the area who will be providing supervision and care to youth athletes in the region. The day is aligned with University Hospitals' and the Browns' joint efforts throughout the year to help provide quality resources and information to youth and parents to benefit them as they compete in various sports and physical activities.
During the event, John Hay High School and James Ford Rhodes High School received $1,000 of athletic training supplies for the upcoming season through a collaboration between Medco Sports Medicine, Cramer Sports Medicine, Professional Football Athletic Trainers' Society (PFATS), members of the Cleveland Browns and University Hospitals. Together, these four organizations are working to ensure that athletic trainers are given the support and resources necessary to provide athletic healthcare at all levels of sport. John Smith, a representative from the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) believes that using available funds towards this initiative is important in helping the career expand and evolve. He said, "We're only borrowing this profession. We have to give back."
And giving back is also the core reason for the two schools' selection. In 2014, John Hay and James Ford Rhodes High Schools were able to add athletic trainers to their staff due to their involvement with the NFL Foundation's Athletic Trainer Grant Program and the partnership between the Browns and University Hospitals. The program provided funds to the high schools so they could hire an athletic trainer and be able to offer year-round quality medical care on and off the field to more than 18 sports programs and 600 youth athletes at both high schools.
Another way University Hospitals is giving back to athletic trainers is through healthy roster scorecards, an idea that provides individual high schools data on their cumulative injuries including type of injuries, which sport suffered the most injuries, and a gender difference among injuries along with a few other things. Dr. James Voos, the Browns Head Team Physician and the Jack and Mary Herrick Endowed Director of Sports Medicine at University Hospitals, believes these scorecards are vital in preventing those same injuries and data points from occurring the next year. Now, their goal is to break down these injuries by sport and to understand whether certain sports need to be more aware and proactive in prevention of certain injuries that may not have been on their initial radar.
The Cleveland Browns are very passionate and committed to assisting in the development, safety and growth of youth and high school athletes in Northeast Ohio through the Browns Give Back initiative. The PFATS, Medco, and Cramer initiative directly corresponds with the organization's efforts to support local youth participation in sports and enhancing player safety at all levels of play. The Cleveland Browns are committed to assisting the development, safety and growth of youth and high school football throughout Northeast Ohio with year-round programming for players, coaches, officials and parents. Through camps, clinics and other initiatives, the Browns' goal is to promote healthy, social, emotional, intellectual and physical development of youth by enhancing opportunities for youth football participation and education.
